Zak Brown: McLaren CEO role has “tremendous” similarities to being a racing driver

Zak Brown says the same traits required to succeed as a racing driver - teamwork, communication, risk management and self-criticism - have shaped his approach to leading McLaren’s F1 revival

The job title that allows Zak Brown onto McLaren Racing's pitwall says CEO. Ask him what this feels like and he answers in a way only a man who started his racing career using the winnings from Wheel of Fortune would say. Speaking to Lawrence Barretto at the Autosport Business Exchange Miami ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, the American racing boss likened his day-to-day to that of his star drivers.

"Whether you're a CEO or racing driver, first thing is you need to have great people around you, it's teamwork," Brown told the room. "You need to have great technology around you. You need to, as a driver, know how to be a really good communicator and leader, but you also need to know how to be a good listener and follower."

Before Brown ran the Papaya-coloured racing organisation, he drove for a living. Very few executives can say such a thing. Born and raised in California and armed with money won in Wheel of Fortune, which he used to buy his first kart, he raced for ten years around the world before he moved into business.

He became incredibly successful in this. And now he's using this rich experience, pushing the McLaren F1 team to the very top of the constructors' standings in both 2024 and 2025.

"Whether your engineer is talking to you, you need to know risk versus reward, and make sure you get that balance right," he said. "You need to be data-driven, but also instinct-driven. So I think there's a tremendous amount of similarities."

Brown added that he strives to be self-critical.

Zak Brown talks at the Autosport Business Exchange ahead of the Miami Grand Prix

"You're striving for perfection. There is no such thing as perfection. So as long as you're comfortable, always kind of analysing, 'what could I have done better yesterday,' then that's what drives forward - kind of marginal gains.

"And if you get the organisation to think like that, then every day you're just trying to get a little bit better than you were yesterday."

Brown was announced as executive director of McLaren Technology Group in 2016 and became CEO of McLaren Racing in 2018. While he inherited an F1 team that was in dire need of direction, in fewer than ten years, he was able to build an outfit worthy of championship wins.

According to reports published at the tail end of 2025, McLaren Racing is now valued at over $5 billion and achieved its first constructors' championship win since 1998 in 2024.